Hollywood is coming back to the Old Dominion.
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday that Steven Spielberg will film his Abraham Lincoln biography film in Richmond and Petersburg this fall.
The state is giving Spielberg’s project grants and credits totaling $3.5 million, plus another $1.1 million in in-kind support. The amount is based on the number of local workers expected to be hired, as well as use of area goods and services.
McDonnell has pushed to increase funding for the governor’s motion picture opportunity fund during his term.
In 2009, a bill was passed adding a 10 percent tax to hotel room digital media rentals, raising a few hundred thousand dollars a year for the film attraction fund. Last month the General Assembly approved a budget amendment to add $1.5 million to the fund.
The DreamWorks-produced film will star Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln. Sally Field will play his wife, Mary Todd. Filming is expected to begin in the fall and had a previously estimated budget of $50 million.
The Lincoln film has long been a target of the Virginia Film Office and has been in Spielberg’s hopper for several years. Actor Liam Nielson was originally attached to play Lincoln but dropped out last year. Spielberg was spotted in Richmond last fall scouting locations and dining with film office officials.
“Virginia’s rich historic legacy, coupled with the remarkable period architecture found in Richmond and Petersburg, make Central Virginia the ideal location for this production,” Spielberg said in a statement.
Mary Nelson, communications manager for the Virginia Film Office, said they expect the production to hire from the local area.
“This has been a tough few years on the film industry,” she said. “We do have a crew base here, and we expect that many of them will get hired onto the project.”
That means not only crew but also actors and extras. Nelson said the production is casting local talent for various speaking roles.
Nelson said the film has been on their radar for seven years, coming and going as it shuffled through Spielberg’s pipeline of projects. The financial collapse of 2009 also delayed progress on the film, but for the past year Nelson said the film office has been working intensely to bring the film to Virginia.
The project is the biggest production to come to the area since the Tom Hanks produced HBO miniseries “John Adams” starring Paul Giamatti. The series was shot in 2007 and had a budget of $81 million. The state estimated a $148 million economic effect from the film: Traveling cast and crew generated $1.3 million for local hotels alone.
The producers of “John Adams” received $1.25 million in credits and grants from the state.
Hollywood is coming back to the Old Dominion.
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday that Steven Spielberg will film his Abraham Lincoln biography film in Richmond and Petersburg this fall.
The state is giving Spielberg’s project grants and credits totaling $3.5 million, plus another $1.1 million in in-kind support. The amount is based on the number of local workers expected to be hired, as well as use of area goods and services.
McDonnell has pushed to increase funding for the governor’s motion picture opportunity fund during his term.
In 2009, a bill was passed adding a 10 percent tax to hotel room digital media rentals, raising a few hundred thousand dollars a year for the film attraction fund. Last month the General Assembly approved a budget amendment to add $1.5 million to the fund.
The DreamWorks-produced film will star Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln. Sally Field will play his wife, Mary Todd. Filming is expected to begin in the fall and had a previously estimated budget of $50 million.
The Lincoln film has long been a target of the Virginia Film Office and has been in Spielberg’s hopper for several years. Actor Liam Nielson was originally attached to play Lincoln but dropped out last year. Spielberg was spotted in Richmond last fall scouting locations and dining with film office officials.
“Virginia’s rich historic legacy, coupled with the remarkable period architecture found in Richmond and Petersburg, make Central Virginia the ideal location for this production,” Spielberg said in a statement.
Mary Nelson, communications manager for the Virginia Film Office, said they expect the production to hire from the local area.
“This has been a tough few years on the film industry,” she said. “We do have a crew base here, and we expect that many of them will get hired onto the project.”
That means not only crew but also actors and extras. Nelson said the production is casting local talent for various speaking roles.
Nelson said the film has been on their radar for seven years, coming and going as it shuffled through Spielberg’s pipeline of projects. The financial collapse of 2009 also delayed progress on the film, but for the past year Nelson said the film office has been working intensely to bring the film to Virginia.
The project is the biggest production to come to the area since the Tom Hanks produced HBO miniseries “John Adams” starring Paul Giamatti. The series was shot in 2007 and had a budget of $81 million. The state estimated a $148 million economic effect from the film: Traveling cast and crew generated $1.3 million for local hotels alone.
The producers of “John Adams” received $1.25 million in credits and grants from the state.